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I. WHY IT IS A SYMBOL.

1. Of God's faithful witnesses (Zechariah 4:5; Revelation 11:3).

2. Of the Church, as the channel of grace to men.

II. WHY IT WAS CHOSEN BY PAUL. Because of

1. The holy anointing oil produced by it (Exodus 25:6).

2. Its beauty (Hosea 14:6).

3. Its constant greenness (Psalm 52:8).

4. Its fruitfulness.

5. Its usefulness.

6. Its long duration:

(T. Robinson, D.D.)

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KJV: And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

WEB: But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them, and became partaker with them of the root and of the richness of the olive tree;